VIRGIN and Easyjet are to team up with an Asian airline to create the world's first budget global network, it was reported yesterday.

Richard Branson's Virgin and Easyjet's Stelios Haji-Ioannou will join forces with AirAsia to form a Malaysia-based alliance, according to reports in the country.

It quoted uniden- tified industry sources as saying that the new joint venture would first fly between Kuala Lumpur and Manchester, and Amritsar in India.

And the alliance - if it decided to fly to London as well - could also use Luton airport as a hub because Virgin already operated a rail link from there to central London.

Fares to Britain will be between £43 and £365, about half the price of a ticket on a regular airline, it added. It said the alliance would give Virgin and Easyjet access to Kuala Lum- pur's low-cost airport terminal, the gateway to a dream Asian hub for their Europe-to-Australia routes.

VIRGIN and Easyjet are to team up with an Asian airline to create the world's first budget global network, it was reported yesterday.

Richard Branson's Virgin and Easyjet's Stelios Haji-Ioannou will join forces with AirAsia to form a Malaysia-based alliance, according to reports in the country.

It quoted uniden- tified industry sources as saying that the new joint venture would first fly between Kuala Lumpur and Manchester, and Amritsar in India.

And the alliance - if it decided to fly to London as well - could also use Luton airport as a hub because Virgin already operated a rail link from there to central London.

Fares to Britain will be between £43 and £365, about half the price of a ticket on a regular airline, it added. It said the alliance would give Virgin and Easyjet access to Kuala Lum- pur's low-cost airport terminal, the gateway to a dream Asian hub for their Europe-to-Australia routes.

I dont know, it was in the free London papers this evening. I don't like this story one bit. LJLA is the low-cost hub, not Ringway.

I think it's immaterial whether flights depart from Manchester or Liverpool, as far as most of the population is concerned. The choice is pretty good for all of us in the NW, and a bit shit for the environment. And also MAN's a low cost hub too, with bmibaby, Jet2, Skyeurope, Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Air Berlin, Hapag Lloyd, Thomsonfly, flyglobespan, flybe on the way.....etc

I can't quite work out what the attraction is for easyjet in this service, with no connections available at MAN, but plenty at LPL. That's a strange one.

“The landing cost at London's Heathrow Airport will be too expensive for a no-frills airline, but there is the possibility of landing at Gatwick, which has become a hub for several European low-cost carriers.

“But then again, AirAsia could give London a miss and go for Manchester, as AirAsia is a known brand there. It is the official Asian low-cost carrier for Manchester United,” said another industry insider.

I can't quite work out what the attraction is for easyjet in this service, with no connections available at MAN, but plenty at LPL. That's a strange one.

Just a theory so don't think i'm having a go, but easy have fallen out with the Peel Group over this charging for security business. Every year easy apply for a huge amount of slots at Manchester?

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Just a theory so don't think i'm having a go, but easy have fallen out with the Peel Group over this charging for security business. Every year easy apply for a huge amount of slots at Manchester?

Yeah they do apply for loads of slots, it's commercially prudent to do so. But the chances of seeing EZY at MAN are slim. Too much competition. As far as falling out with Peel goes, that's just them chucking their toys out of the pram IMO.

EZY should stick to LPL........loads of money to be made and it gives us (me) bags of choice. It'll be even more attractive for me once Transpennine trains stop at Liverpool South Parkway.

From East Manchester. Driving down the M56 then over Runcorn Bridge is a pain in the arse - you never quite know whether you're going to make the flight on time. Same with the M62/Knowsley Expressway.......but that's the same travelling the other way towards MAN.

Parking costs can be prohibitive too, it's cheaper to get a cab to Manchester for me, but a train would make all the difference. (Sometimes I have to use Liverpool, at other times Manchester).

The new Transpennine timetable (10th Dec to 19th May) is still not showing any trains stopping at Lpl Parkway, oddly enough. What was the point in building an interchange there? Maybe they expect people to change onto Northern Rail at Warrington Central.